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This year Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered his autumn budget a few weeks earlier than usual. Normally the budget is released in mid-November, but this year he gave the budget on 29 October.

In the run up to Brexit, Hammond didn’t release any huge announcements. Perhaps he wants to leave plenty of room to accommodate for any Brexit inconveniences. However, there were some important takeaways.

In the UK, we are faced with the challenge of an ageing population. Many of us will live longer than we might have expected. Already, 2.4% of the population is aged over 85. Because of improvements in healthcare and nutrition, this figure only looks set to rise.

You may well have seen the headlines that victims lost an average of £91k each in pension scams last year. Worryingly, in a recent survey, 32% of pension holders aged 45-65 said they were unsure how to verify if they were speaking to a genuine pensions adviser. Scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated. They can be articulate and sound highly knowledgeable. They will have designed seemingly attractive offers to try and persuade you to transfer your pension pot or release funds from it, which they will then invest in high-risk investments like overseas property, renewable energy bonds or forestry – or simply steal it directly.

financially, which is why many parents continue to support their children well into adulthood. Instead of being ‘empty nesters’, many parents discover that their offspring return to the family home straight after university (that is if they ever left in the first place!) due to the problems of getting a foot on the property ladder.

With Halloween on the horizon, it’s time to be prepared for scary movies on TV, ghosts and ghouls trick-or-treating at your door and listening extra carefully for things that go bump in the night. But whilst these fears might be unfounded, it might be a good time to think about what frightens you in your finances and, more importantly, how to overcome those concerns. Keep reading for our top financial fears and what you can do to banish them this October.

It’s one thing to travel with your children or grandchildren and help them realise an appreciation for seeing the world. To prepare them to navigate that world on their own and to take control of their own adventures, is another thing entirely, but it’s not impossible.

In 2007, there were 254,000 older people living in private rented accomodation. According to research by the Centre for Ageing Better, over the last decade that figure has skyrocketed to 414,000. If things continue the way they’re going, they estimate that over a third of those over 60 will be privately renting by 2040.

Holidays can be expensive, that’s for sure. Getting everything organised for your trip can be quite a challenge, too. So we’ve compiled these simple tips to save you money and allow you to enjoy your time away to the full.

‘Stock market closing at an all time high’; ‘The bubble’s burst’; ‘The stock market is crashing’; ‘Shares have gone through the roof – how could they go any higher?’; ‘House prices plummet by 30%’; ‘UK economy in weakest growth’; ‘The end is near for the bear market’; ‘Stocks dangerously close to unique kind of bull market’; ‘Not seen such market volatility since the 1987 crash’; ‘Warnings of market correction ahead’.

A marriage or civil partnership can be a beautiful union of minds and hearts, but there’s no reason why it should end there. There can also be financial benefits to being with your partner, and one of these is the Marriage Allowance. In the 2018-19 tax year, the Marriage Allowance lets you transfer up to £1,190 of your Personal Allowance to your partner, meaning a tax reduction of up to £238, as long as you meet a few requirements.

As one of the most successful investors of all time and currently the third richest person in the world with a net worth of over $88 billion, it’s likely that you’ll know Warren Buffett’s name. You might even have visited his website at WarrenBuffett.com, perhaps giving particular attention to the page entitled ‘Warren’s 10 Ways To Get Rich’. What you might not know, however, is that Buffett has another website – one which is aimed not at you, but at your children and grandchildren.

In Britain, we love our pets and often consider them part of the family. In fact, 27 per cent of UK dog owners plan to take their pets with them on holiday in 2018, on average spending £114 per pet. That might sound like a small outgoing, but across the UK it adds up to a total of £227,538,186 to be spent on canine holidays in just this year.

Recent figures released through a Freedom of Information Request have revealed that payroll investigations last year led to HMRC collecting £819 million of additional tax, a figure that represents a year-on-year jump of 16%.

At the beginning of March 2018, HMRC published figures on personal taxation and income throughout the UK for the 2015/16 tax year. The full report offers some interesting insights into the nation’s finances.

We all have bucket lists of one form or another and high up on a lot of people’s lists are various travel experiences. Travel allows us to experience other cultures, other climates, to meet new people and generally broaden our horizons. Especially now that you are in or approaching retirement and you have time to make your travel ambitions a reality.

Whether you’re someone who prides themselves on having their accounts in order every year, or you’ve just had yet another last-minute scramble to submit your tax return before the deadline at the end of January, the start of a new calendar year is a great time to review your books and ensure they’re all in order for the twelve months ahead. Here are our top four tips for 2018 in terms of your accounts, ensuring your bottom line is secure and most likely giving it a bit of a boost too.

You’ve lived a full and rewarding life, settled down, had a family, and are now reaping the benefits of working hard and investing in your future. But has the world got smaller since back when you first began to make your mark? Now, through using social media on your tablet or smartphone, you can find that schoolfriend that emigrated halfway across the world or have a video chat with your grandchildren even though they live some distance away, or perhaps you use your smartphone or tablet to manage your portfolio while you are on the go.

Talking about money with your parents can be difficult. However, these conversations can also be some of the most important ones you will have with those you love. It doesn’t need to be a full examination of their financial records, as you clearly don’t want to overstep any boundaries or cause offence. But there are also questions you need to ask to ensure your parents have prepared for the next stage of their lives, as well as helping you to know about any areas where you might need to provide support in the future, as early as possible. Here are five important questions you should be asking:

Recent government statistics have revealed that the Help to Buy ISA scheme is helping first-time buyers to get on the property ladder three years earlier than they otherwise would. The result has been calculated by looking at the average age of first-time buyers both with and without the ISAs. On average, those who use the ISA to buy their first home are three years younger than those who do not, with the median age of those using the Help to Buy ISA being 27.

The collapse of construction firm Carillion has been widely reported and it’s no surprise that high-profile cases such as these cause worry amongst employees throughout the UK as to whether their promised workplace pension will be delivered when the time comes.

Following the financial crisis of 2008 when a number of big British banks came close to collapsing, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) was strengthened by the government. As such, the FSCS 100% guarantees the first £85,000 of a person’s cash savings per banking licence in total, including interest. This means that a couple with a joint account holding up to £170,000 will have every penny of this covered.

When choosing an accountant, there are obvious factors that you’ll take into consideration. Of course you’ll want someone who is completely trustworthy and highly competent, but one area you may not think of straight away is whether your accountant is someone whose methods are stuck in the past. A good accountancy firm will be open to adapting their practices in order to keep up with modern business practices. Here’s a rundown of five things to look out in an accountant who is ready for the world of tomorrow.

As with any new year, there are a number of financial changes coming up in 2018 which are likely to impact on your monthly budget and long-term saving goals. Let’s have a look at five of the most significant and what they’re likely to mean for you over the next twelve months.

Research into the housing market throughout 2017 has revealed the areas of the UK where property prices increased and decreased the most last year. Cheltenham in Gloucestershire was the place where prices grew at the fastest pace, with the average price of £313,150 marking a 13% rise – nearly five times the UK average increase of 2.7%. At the other end of the scale was the Scottish town of Perth, where prices dropped by 5.3% to make the average property price tag £180,687.

It’s a troubling norm of today’s society that most people will have heard a horror story about property fraud from a family member, a colleague from work or simply reading online. Importantly, these stories need to be kept in perspective: remember, the tales of properties being rented and sold without any noteworthy problems are the ones people usually don’t bother sharing! However, it’s also worth taking heed of the negative experiences of others to ensure you do everything you can to avoid falling into similar traps.

We may only be in November but the ever-expanding festive fare already available in every high street shop and supermarket provides a daily reminder that Christmas is just around the corner. Whilst it might still feel too soon for you to begin thinking about your arrangements for the Yuletide season, there are definite benefits to getting your Christmas plans in order nice and early.

Setting up a trusted family member or friend with a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) ensures that someone else is able to make important decisions for you when you’re no longer in a position to be able to make them for yourself. But this in itself is always going to be a key decision in your life, so it’s important to consider the benefits and risks before going ahead with giving another person the authority LPA unlocks.

After months of speculation, the Bank of England finally raised interest rates in the UK for the first time in over a decade. The increase from 0.25% to 0.5% might seem small, especially when you consider that the last time the interest rate was increased in July 2007 it was up to 5.75%, but the fact that interest rates are going up at all after more than ten years at rock bottom is significant.

The UK has fallen ten places in the rankings of Europe’s best countries for property investment. The list is created by payments firm WorldFirst, which ranks the average available yields on buy-to-let investments measured by rent as a percentage of property value. The recent tax changes for buy-to-let investors have seen average yields in Britain fall 19% over twelve months, and has led to the UK falling from 15th place in 2016 to 25th this year.